


Killer

by Rcw99



Series: Things To Hold On To [3]
Category: Night In The Woods (Video Game)
Genre: Baseball, Forgiveness, Gen, Hospitalization, Minor Violence, Nightmare Eyes, The Incident
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-12
Updated: 2017-04-30
Packaged: 2018-10-15 01:04:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,812
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10547386
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rcw99/pseuds/Rcw99
Summary: Poor Andy Cullen. Ever since he was a child, he loved to play baseball. Some of his favorite memories were of him and his family watching their favorite team on the television every week. He was even the star pitcher of the Possum Springs baseball team, and everyone thought he had a promising career in front of him.And then a girl named Mae Borowski beats his head in with a bat, and neither of their lives are the same ever again.





	1. The Incident

  


Andy Cullen loved baseball.

That was just his thing. 

Where some people liked football, or video games, or cars, or art, or what have you, he liked baseball. If you ever needed to get him a present for some reason, as long as it was baseball related, it was good enough for him. He collected baseball cards, he kept up with all the statistics, he watched the Pirates on TV with his folks, and he would tell just about anyone who would listen about how his father used to pitch for the Durkillesburg college team back in the day.

Ever since he was small, he wanted nothing more than to follow in his father’s footsteps and play professionally. Wanted to be a part of something great and new and exciting. Wanted nothing more than to get out of Possum Springs before it trapped him there forever.

As soon as he was old enough, his father signed him up for the local Tee-ball team, and when he aged out of that, he jumped right into a Little League Softball team, then got into the middle school team, and as a freshman in high school, he got a spot on the prestigious Possum Springs Varsity Baseball Team.

It wasn’t really all that prestigious, not anymore, at least, just like most everything in the town, but Andy loved it anyway. To him, it was his whole world. 

He stayed there, on that team, for all four years of high school, as the pitcher. And, boy, was he good at it. By his senior year, 2012, he had a couple of full scholarships lined up to play for various universities. Durkillesburg was at the top of the list of course, just like his old man.

Everything was going great in his life.

He was happy.

He would finally make his father proud.

And then there was an incident.

  


~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~

  


It was on a Saturday morning that Andy’s life changed forever.

He woke up at 6 o’clock, just because he was an early riser by design, but laid in bed for about an hour before he actually got up. It was 7:45 by the time he showered, got dressed, and headed downstairs, where both his parents were already up and about.

Breakfast was a simple affair. Andy only had two slices of toast and a banana, which was all he really needed. His parents had both eaten a little while ago, but they sat with him at the table and chatted about nothing in particular. His father mostly complained about politics and the kids these days.

They also briefly discussed the game Andy would be playing later in the day, and how his father wanted him to get some practice in beforehand, much to Andy’s annoyance. 

It wasn’t even a real game or anything. It was a part of some fundraiser event thing put on by the school. A fun little day of food, drinks, sports, merriment, and a chance to raise some money for the high school. Pretty much everyone in town would be there at one point or another.

Of course, Andy was looking forward to the softball game at eleven o’clock. Like the other games that would be going on that day, it was sort of a free-for-all, where anyone could come out and play. Though, that being said, he and a few other members of the varsity team were going to be playing on and off. He was set to pitch through the whole thing if no one else wanted to, which he was perfectly fine with. 

It was just a casual thing, after all. Just some fun.

But, his father insisted he practice some anyways, and so Andy relented and went out into the backyard to warm up a bit. His father only wanted what was best for him, and only wanted him to be at the top of his game. Never know who might be watching, after all.

He practiced for an hour or so, and then slipped back inside and went upstairs. He had about another hour to kill before they would be leaving, so he just hung out in his room for a while.

It was nice just to relax a little bit.

Just for a while.

When his mom called him downstairs to leave, he had almost fallen asleep.

He quickly went to the bathroom, and when he was done, stood in front of the mirror to make sure he looked at least halfway decent. He smoothed down a few wayward feathers on the top of his head and gave his beak a quick polish, and decided that was good enough. He wasn’t the best-looking bird imaginable, but he did have appearances to keep up, as his father would always remind him.

And then he went back downstairs, and he and his family left.

  


~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~

  


By the time eleven o’clock rolled around, Andy was raring to start playing some baseball—or, technically, some softball.

The rest of the festival was fun and all, but, like most everything put on by Possum Springs, it was a little sad. Like, it had obviously been really cool and big deal at some point in the past, but now it was just a ghost of its former self.

They did have a pierogi stand though. That was nice.

If you were a little kid, it was probably fun, he figured. There were kid games and stuff, but aside from hanging out with some of his friends, there wasn’t much for him to do before the softball game started.

And when it did, it was a little lackluster. At first, not many people showed up to play, so they had to make due with about half of a proper team, which meant that any balls that went towards the outfields were pretty much a lost cause.

Andy and some of the other guys off the varsity team pretty much played amongst themselves for about two hours while a few people watched on from the stands. It was good practice at least.

Some kids and teens eventually came up to bat, and at one point they had to break out a tee for a four-year-old that wanted to hit the ball. Occasionally, an adult wanted to throw or play catcher or be a baseman or something, but for the most part it was pretty chill.

It was only sometime after one that it began to pick up. A bunch of teens started to line up to bat and a couple of people stood in the outfield for the one or two balls that ever made it out that far. More and more people filled the bleachers, until it seemed like the whole school was watching. 

It started to be a real and proper game and Andy was having a blast. He even let a couple of other people pitch, though most of them ended up having to stand closer to the batter just so they could reach them. It was all good fun, though.

There was a kid up now. Some guy with a hat. Middle school, maybe. Andy figured that a standard pitch would be good enough. There wasn’t a reason to get too fancy here.

Winding back, he threw the ball at the kid, who swung and missed. The catcher behind him, some other guy, fumbled with the ball, but eventually managed to toss it back to Andy.

People in the stands shouted encouraging words as the kid squared up again. Andy threw, the kid swung, and there was a resounding crack. The ball went flying over Andy’s head and out towards center field.

The people in left and center field were talking to each other and didn’t seem to notice the ball for a moment. Then, as people began to yell, they noticed and started to run, hands high in the air, mitts wide open.

And the ball sailed past them and clean over the fence. 

Now, granted, it was just a waist-high chain-link fence, but it was a home run nonetheless. The crowd cheered, and the kid, who hadn’t even made it to first base yet, stopped and looked dumbstruck at where his ball had gone.

The first baseman, one of Andy’s friends, urged the kid forward, and the kid took a well-deserved victory lap around the diamond and back onto home plate, where he was greeted with a hero’s welcome. His dad or someone came up to high-five him and walked him back towards the stands.

It was cool. Maybe the kid would grow up to play too. He was certainly pretty good, if that home run was of any indication. 

There was then a bit of rearranging of positions among the players, as new people were switched in and out. Most of the basemen and outfielders were replaced with teens.

Andy kept on pitching.

That was what he was good at.

The next batter up was a short, stocky cat girl. Dark blue fur, a little fringe of hair, and an orange shirt. 

Andy didn’t really know most of the people batting, but he did know of this one. Mae something or other. She was a freshman, he thought, or maybe a sophomore. Ran with the Hartley kid and that other guy. Troublemakers, his father had called them. Wouldn’t ever amount to anything. Delinquents.

As she walked up to the plate, she dragged the bat behind her and had her eyes practically glued to the ground. From what Andy could tell from up on the mound, it looked as if she was shaking something fierce. A little odd, he figured. Maybe she was nervous about playing in front of all these people or something.

Oh well.

Didn’t look like it would be too much trouble to strike her out.

She stood there for a moment, at the plate, muttering something that he couldn’t quite hear. Probably trying to psyche herself up.

It was only when the umpire gently nudged her, that she seemed to snap to attention.

She slowly raised her head and looked out into the distance, somewhere past Andy.

He could see her eyes then. Red eyes. Vacant, glassy, and dull. Staring right through him.

He frowned at that. Was she on drugs or something? At this family event? It wouldn’t surprise him in the least.

And then she seemed to notice something, and her eyes focused in on him. They grew intense and angry, and Andy blinked in surprise and took a step back, almost unbidden.

There was definitely something wrong with her.

Her eyes seemed to harden and Andy almost felt a little apprehensive. Scared, even. This girl was freaking him out. Maybe he should tell someone, he thought, that she was on drugs, in case she got violent or something.

And then he felt a change in the air.

A crackle. Like electricity.

There’s a knot in his stomach.

Someone yells something from the bleachers that he only catches the tail end of.

He glances over in that direction for only a few seconds, surprised.

And then he looks back, and Mae is sprinting towards him, halfway to the pitcher’s mound already, screaming at the top of her lungs, her bat at the ready.

And before he has time to react, the bat connects with his beak, flinging him to the ground.

His face erupts in pain. He’s sure that she’s cracked his beak. What the hell!?! What the—

And then she’s on top of him, pinning him to the ground.

He’s too stunned, too confused to push her off.

She’s crying, he can see, though he’s not quite sure why he notices that.

And then she raises the bat over her head and swings down.

He shifts some, trying to get an arm up to protect his face.

The first hit connects with his shoulder, and an intense pain shoots through his arm.

The second hits just a little further in, closer to his neck. Closer to his head.

As she rears back for the third hit, it’s as if time is moving in slow motion. 

He’s dimly aware of people shouting, of movement on the edges of his vision.

But he can’t look away from her face.

Her eyes are closed now. Shut tight.

And she almost seems to be in more pain than him.

Then her third swing hits him straight on the face, right on the beak again.

The hard keratin shatters under the bat.

He doesn’t even feel the pain.

The fourth hit then connects directly with his head, and the entire world seems to burst white.

His ears ring.

He’s swallowing his own blood now. Choking on it.

And as the world snaps back into focus, all he can see is her face.

Her mouth is open, screeching, but he can’t hear it.

And those red eyes, staring at him like he was nothing, like he wasn’t even there.

The red eyes.

It’s as she goes in for a fifth hit, that someone pulls her off of him.

For a moment, he doesn’t realize.

His brain hasn’t caught up to anything that just happened.

He blinks.

He takes in a deep breath.

Pain floods his system.

Everything hurts.

For a moment, all he sees is blue sky.

And then everything turns black.

  



	2. The Hospital

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


The first thing Andy Cullen saw when he woke up were those eyes.

  


  


  


Red eyes, staring at him out of the darkness.

  


  


  


Glowing, sharp, nightmare eyes.

  


  


  


And then he passed out again.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

    
    
                                                              _…woke up sometime during the night…_

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

    
    
                                                     _…have to see how it heals…_

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

    
    
                                                                                                   _…please calm down…_

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

    
    
                                                                              _…just give it time…_

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


There was noise.

  


  


  


  


A steady beeping.

  


  


  


That was all he heard at first.

  


  


  


The only sensation at all.

  


  


Another beep went by.

  


  


And then another.

  


He took a deep breath in...

  


...And then the world shifted back into focus.

  


He opened his eyes.

There was light.

Bright, harsh light.

He squeezed his eyes back shut and groaned in discomfort.

And then he tried to move some.

And that was when the pain flared up.

Hot and sharp and heavy.

It knocked his breath away.

Then he realized he couldn’t breathe properly.

There was something in his throat.

Long, round, and plastic.

Pumping and pulsating.

He moved again, panicking now.

More pain burst through his body.

He tried to scream, to yell, but he couldn’t.

He was choking on the thing in him.

The beeping grew steadily faster.

“Oh—Oh God, you’re awake!” came a voice, floating in from somewhere.

There was a hand on him, gently pushing him down into the bed.

“Calm down, Mr. Cullen, it’s okay. Don’t panic. You’re okay.” 

It was a nice voice.

“Mr. Cullen, you have a tube down your throat, okay? I know it—You need to calm down.”

He tried to say something, but all that came out was a raspy moan. He couldn’t understand what the voice was saying.

“We can’t take it out yet, Mr. Cullen. You need to calm down or you’re only going to injure yourself more.”

His eyes were open now. Wide, panicked, confused. He didn’t understand what was going on! All he could see was the ceiling. He couldn’t turn his head.

And there was some damn thing in his throat!

He tried to reach up and yank whatever it was out of his throat, but there was the most unimaginable pain instead. His shoulder was on fire.

He cried out and tried to suck in a breath, but that only made him choke harder.

Which, in turn, only made it worse.

He couldn’t breathe.

He couldn’t breathe.

Oh God! What was going on!?

What—

Another coughing fit.

More pain, everywhere.

The beeping got even faster now.

“Shit! Mr. Cullen, you need to—Give me—Yes! Okay, Mr. Cullen, you’re gonna be going back to sleep now. Everything will be okay…”

There was a beat of silence.

He blinked, suddenly feeling much calmer.

He didn’t know how things would be okay.

The lights seemed to grow dimmer.

He blinked, again.

It was harder to open his eyes the second time.

  


What was going on?

  


What was…

  


There was a face above him now, looking down.

  


  


And then his eyes closed.

  


  


His body grew limp.

  


  


  


And he fell back asleep.

  


  


  


The beeping slowed down and returned to a steady rhythm.

  


  


  


  


Until that too fell away...

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

    
    
                                                          _…He woke up again…_

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

    
    
                     _…had to put him back under. He was…_

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

    
    
                                                        _…I can refer you to an excellent prosthetic company. They…_

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

    
    
                       _…My poor baby…_

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


The second time he opened his eyes, everything was in focus.

Crisp and clean.

There was a single overhead light.

Fluorescent.

Buzzing.

Humming.

Bright.

It took a moment for his brain to wake up.

He blinked once.

Then, twice.

The very first thought that came to his mind was that he desperately needed to cough. His throat was dry and raw, and there was still something shoved down it, blocking it.

He gagged violently instead, and his entire body spasmed in turn. 

“Oh, thank heavens!” There was a voice off to his right. A familiar voice, flush with relief.

His mom burst into view from somewhere off to the side. His eyes locked onto her, a million questions racing through his mind. “Andy! Oh God… How are you feeling?” She looked disheveled and almost frantic, which were not things he was used to seeing in his mom.

He tried to say something in response, but all that came out was a guttural moan. The thing in his throat was blocking him.

“Oh! Oh! Don’t try to speak!” She looked off somewhere behind her. “Let me go get the doctor, okay? Just keep calm. I’ll be right back!”

And then she left.

Well, he was certainly awake now.

Andy took in a gentle breath, rattling the thing inside him. A tube, his mind supplied. There was a tube stuck down his throat. He was breathing through the tube.

He sunk into the bed and looked around the room, trying to keep his breathing steady and keep his mind off the sensation of the tube.

A hospital.

He was in the hospital.

What had…

What had happened?

He could remember the festival.

The softball game.

He had been pitching for…some kid?

He had hit a home run.

And then…

Then…

Red flashed across his vision.

Two eyes, staring at him.

He flinched at the memory, as it all came rushing back.

That girl.

The girl with the eyes.

She had attacked him.

She had…

His eyes shot down, trying desperately to see his beak at the bottom of his vision.

But there was nothing there.

He couldn’t see his beak.

It was gone.

Shattered.

And then the door opened again, and his mom and some other guy came in. The doctor, he could only guess.

The door closed.

His mom smiled half-heartedly at him and slinked across the room.

The doctor came over to the bedside and took a moment to look at one of the machines that were standing just on the edges of Andy’s vision.

“Hey there, Mr. Cullen,” the doctor said, turning to Andy, “My name is Doctor Simmons. I’ll be your doctor during your stay here with us. You’re at the Deep Hollow County Regional Hospital. You’ve been in and out of consciousness for almost two days now. Do you understand what I’m telling you?”

Andy could only grunt in response. A sort of strained gurgle.

“Oh! Sorry.” A slight pause as the doctor moved around to the other side of the bed. “Are you able to move your left hand at all?”

Andy’s eyes flicked down to his hand. He clenched it. No pain.

“Very good.” Simmons reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a small device. “This is a clicker. Just press it once for ‘yes’ and twice for ‘no,’ okay? It’ll make a small beep.” He pressed into Andy’s hand.

Andy pressed it once.

It beeped.

“Good. Now that you’re awake, I’m just going to perform some quick, preliminary tests to see what sort of shape you’re in. Are you feeling up for that?”

A beep.

The doctor smiled and began to poke and prod Andy, testing whatever it was that needed testing, among other things. Andy couldn’t see everything that he was doing, so most of his input was just clicking his button when Simmons asked him if something in particular hurt or other questions. There was a gentle throbbing in his right shoulder, some bruising on various parts of his body, but other than that he was pretty okay.

After a few minutes, the doctor was finished and was jotting some notes down on a clipboard. Andy’s mom had been watching the entire time from a chair in the corner, in quiet concern. She spoke up. “How is he?”

Simmons turned to her. “He seems to be healing up alright. It’ll be a few more days more until we know anything for sure.”

And then he directed his attention back to Andy. “Would you like to know the extent of your injuries? If you’re not feeling up to it, we can—”

One beep.

Yes.

He needed to know.

He wanted to know what had happened.

Simmons nodded and looked back down at his clipboard. “Ah. Well, as I’m sure you can recall, you were struck with a bat five times. Twice on your shoulder and thrice on your head.” He stopped there and glanced up, as if wanting permission to move on.

One beep.

Get on with it.

“The first two hits shattered your right collarbone and cracked your right clavicle. Some of the bone shards cut into your rotator cuff and the surrounding tissue and nerves…” He hesitated again. “Your, um, your parents inform that you play baseball… It’s, uhh, highly unlikely that your shoulder is ever going to heal back one-hundred percent. The damage was severe, and…”

But that was all Andy heard.

The world fell away.

No.

Not that.

His shoulder was destroyed.

His pitching shoulder was destroyed.

It was a career-ending injury, before his career ever even began.

He would never be able to play baseball properly again.

No team would let him pitch for them.

Because of…

Because of some girl.

“Mr. Cullen?”

His breathing began to come in ragged gasps.

His eyes darted to his side, to see his right shoulder immobilized in a cast and a sling.

He hadn’t even realized it.

He didn’t see it before.

His arm.

His pitching arm.

Useless.

Because of some girl.

“Andy?”

His mom grasped his good arm, snapping him out of his thoughts.

“Calm down, sweetie. It’s okay…” She smiled at him, reassuringly.

It wasn’t okay.

It wouldn’t be okay.

It would never be okay.

But Andy forced himself to calm down. Tried to, anyway.

Now, of course, he was acutely aware of the tube in his throat. He could feel it pressing into him. It was excruciatingly uncomfortable. Unnatural.

He pressed the clicker a few times and gestured to the tube.

Simmons grimaced. “Yes, the tube. Unfortunately, Mr. Cullen, that’s going to have to stay in for another day or two. I know it’s unpleasant, but until your injuries heal more, it’s a necessary evil.”

Two beeps.

“I’m sorry. It’ll have to stay in. If you’re good and don’t exacerbate your injuries more, we might be able to take it out sooner, but that’s all.”

Andy screwed his eyes shut and tried his hardest not to gag. He coughed, or as close as he could get to it, and then looked back at the doctor.

One beep.

Fine.

He’d just suffer then.

There wasn’t anything else he could do anyways.

“Do you want me to continue, or would you rather get some rest?”

One beep.

Sure, why not?

How much worse could it possibly get?

“Okay.” Simmons sighed. “You were also hit three times in the face. The first two hits shattered the top half of your beak and severely cracked the lower. The latter will heal, given time, but you will need a full prosthetic for the top half. That will not regrow.”

Great.

So his face was ruined too.

How wonderful.

The doctor continued. “The third hit directly impacted your head, but there’s no sign of any serious brain trauma. You got lucky in that regard. Your beak absorbed the first two hits incredibly well and mitigated any actual damage to your head. If you didn’t have a beak, the damage would’ve been much worse.

“Unfortunately, there are quite a lot of blood vessels located in the beak. By the time you arrived here at the hospital, you had already swallowed almost a half pint of your own blood. The reason you have a tube is because your face and mouth area are both heavily bandaged, as to prevent any infection and any further bleeding, and the tube provides an unrestricted airflow. Also, as to not agitate your wounds any further, your head and body are restrained.”

He stopped there and peered expectantly at Andy, as if everything he had just said had been perfectly normal and not upsetting in any way. “Any questions?”

There was silence for a moment.

Andy stared off into the distance, feeling as if the bottom had fallen out from under him.

Everything he had planned for the future.

All of his hopes and dreams.

All gone.

Snuffed out.

Even his face was destroyed.

“Mr. Cullen?”

He looked back at the doctor.

Two beeps.

Simmons smiled. It was a fake smile. A practiced smile. “Okay. I’ll let you rest then.” He moved for the door, stopped, and glanced back. “Are you in any pain?”

Yes.

Yes, he was in pain.

Of course he was.

Everything was ruined.

His whole life was gone.

Two beeps.

Simmons nodded. “Alright. I’ll leave you two be.”

And he exited the room.

After a moment, Andy’s mom stood up and stepped up to the bed, coming into his field of view. She smiled at him. It was forced too. He probably wasn’t the greatest sight to look at right now. “How’re you feeling, sweetie?” She patted one of his legs affectionately.

He flinched a little at the contact, and then shrugged his one good shoulder at her question.

Two beeps.

“Oh… My poor baby…” She reached out and gently brushed the top of his head with the back of her hand. He couldn’t even feel it. “Your father and I have been so worried for you. When they told us what happened, I—”

She grimaced and broke off, averting her gaze to nothing in particular. He had never seen his mom look so upset before. “Don’t worry, sweetie,” she began again, “we’ll get you a nice beak prosthetic, and we’ll sue those Borowskis for all they’re worth for what their daughter did to you.”

Good.

Good riddance.

That crazy bitch.

One beep.

His mom chuckled softly at that and then glanced down at her watch. “…I should probably get going and let you rest some. It’s almost nine o’clock.” She leaned over and gently kissed his forehead.

One beep.

She squeezed his good hand one time and then went to leave. As she got to the door, she turned back. “I’ll be back sometime tomorrow afternoon, okay? I’ll see if I can’t drag your father up here too. He’s been all in a tizzy talking to his lawyer about this. He’ll be happy to know you’re awake.”

One beep.

He almost pressed it a second time.

“I love you, sweetie. Bye-bye.”

And she left, turning the lights out as she went.

The room turned dark.

There wasn’t a window in his room.

For a moment, all Andy could see was blackness.

Darkness.

He didn’t think he would be able to get any sleep tonight.

There were too many thoughts in his head.

Too much pain in his body.

Too much sadness.

And the damn tube down his throat was just annoying enough to be a problem.

Andy shut his eyes for a few moments, intensely hoping that this was all just a bad dream or something.

That was a natural reaction whenever anything bad happened.

Please be a dream.

Please, wake up, and have everything be normal again.

He wanted to wake up and be back in his bed at home and go to school and see his friends and continue playing baseball.

That’s all he wanted.

He wanted his life back the way it was.

But when he opened his eyes, he was greeted by the same dark, bleak hospital room.

It wasn’t a dream.

It was real.

That girl.

Mae…Borowski, his mom had said.

Mae Borowski.

She had ruined his life.

And that’s when he noticed it.

A shudder ran through his body as his blood turned to ice.

Up high on the wall right in front of him was some sort of electronic device. An alarm of some sort, or something. He wasn’t sure.

He hadn’t noticed it before, when the overhead lights were on and everything else was happening.

But now that they were off, he saw it.

Two, glowing red lights shining in the darkness.

Red eyes.

Her eyes.

Nightmare eyes, staring down at him.

Looking at him like he was nothing.

Looking right through him.

All through the night.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no clue how hospitals work.
> 
> Tried some different sort of formatting stuff out. Hope you all like it.


	3. Seven Years Later

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seven years after the softball incident, Andy Cullen and Mae Borowski finally meet up and talk about what happened between them.

  


She had gotten in contact.

After all these years, she wanted to meet up and talk about what happened between them.

And he had accepted. 

Without any hesitation.

For the first time since she had put him in the hospital seven years ago, Andy was finally going to come face-to-face with Mae Borowski.

And he was okay with that.

He really was.

If this had happened even two years ago, he probably would’ve punched her in the face and he would’ve been the one going to jail.

But now…

Now he was mostly okay.

He wanted to see her, even.

She had changed his life so unexpectedly and so drastically that he needed the closure.

And from what he could gather, it sounded like she needed the closure too.

Her mom had contacted his mom about a month ago with the proposal. His mom hadn’t wanted him to go. She was still angry with the Borowskis and had never really gotten over how everything had turned out.

And, truthfully, he didn’t want to go at first.

It took him the better part of two weeks before he decided to go.

This thing between them needed to be addressed, he figured, and whatever would happen would happen.

So that’s where he was now.

Standing just outside the Clik Clak, where they’d agreed to meet.

Working up the nerve to go in.

It was silly, he thought. He had imagined this exact thing so many times, but now that he was finally doing it, he was so scared.

Seven years of unresolved tension and anger would do that.

Taking a deep breath and steeling his nerves, he went inside.

A bell above the door rang as he went in. There were only a few people inside at this time, eating an early dinner. One or two waitresses ran around, tending to their tables.

It was all so normal.

He looked around for a moment, figuring she’d be waiting for him.

But he didn’t see her.

She wasn’t there.

She…

Andy glanced at his watch. It was five minutes until the time they had agreed to meet. He was a little early, but nothing too major.

He had gotten there before her, he realized.

She must still be on her way.

He felt a little embarrassed at that. He had been standing outside for almost five minutes trying to hype himself up and she wasn’t even inside yet.

Whoops.

As one of the waitresses approached him, he mumbled something under his breath to head her off and shuffled off in the direction of an empty booth.

It appeared that he’d be waiting then.

He settled into a small, two-person booth and opted to just get a glass of water when the waitress asked him what he wanted. He didn’t think he could stomach anything more right now.

And he waited for Mae Borowski to arrive.

He didn’t know what to expect of this, really.

He had imagined the two of them meeting countless times over the years and he figured just about anything could happen. Granted, their imaginary confrontations had gotten less…angry as time went on and he mellowed out some, but there was still some trepidation there.

As long as this day didn’t end up with her attacking him again, or him attacking her, everything would be fine.

That’s what he told himself, at least.

Everything would be okay.

Truth was, as the minutes ticked by, he grew increasingly more uneasy.

It had never occurred to him that he’d get there before she did.

And now, this waiting that he was having to do was wreaking havoc on his nerves.

He—

The waitress drifted by the table, slamming his water down as she passed. He jumped at the sudden noise before realizing what it was. 

Just water.

He scooched it closer to himself and peered into it. There were some black specks floating in it. Dirt—or something.

Great.

He slid the glass back across the table and settled back into the seat. This was why he and his family never came here. It was a dive, even by Possum Springs standards. 

God, he hadn’t been in here since at least middle school and it didn’t look like anything had changed. Same peeling wallpaper. Same tacky pictures lining the walls. Same grease stains on the floor.

The whole place was disgusting. The health and safety inspector must’ve been family or something to pass it. It was a wonder the whole place hadn’t burst into flames yet.

The food wasn’t even that good either. He didn’t know quite how it remained in business for so long. Out of all the places that have gone in and out over the years, the Clik Clak somehow hung on.

It was then that the door opened.

The bell rang out.

He glanced over, just out of habit.

And she was there.

Mae Borowski.

Standing there.

She looked around the diner, presumably searching for him.

And then their eyes connected.

And his blood turned to ice.

There were those eyes again.

Those red eyes that had haunted his dreams for so long.

Those nightmare eyes.

Looking right at him.

And then she flinched away.

He blinked and took a deep, steadying breath.

Everything was okay.

He could do this.

She approached the table hesitantly, pointedly looking anywhere else but him, rubbing one of her arms. “Uhh…” she began, “Hey.”

Hey.

He could deal with that.

“He-y,” he said back, though his voice broke halfway through. He cleared his throat and tried again in a firmer tone. “Hey.”

There was silence between the two of them.

Neither of them could fully look at the other.

Mae sucked in air through her teeth. “C-can I sit down?” She gestured to the booth.

Andy was surprised at that. He didn’t think that she needed his permission. “Oh! Uh, yeah. S-sure.”

She slid into the opposite seat quietly, keeping her eyes downcast.

There was another stretch of silence.

Around them, the other patrons continued on with their conversations.

There was a clatter of dishes from the kitchen.

The bell above the door rang as someone else came inside.

The smell of grease and burnt char filled the air.

“You know,” she spoke up suddenly, “I had—” A nervous chuckle escaped her. “I had, like, a whole speech prepared. Wrote it out and everything. Memorized it.” She looked up at him. “But I came in here, and, and, and just forgot it all…”

He didn’t know how to respond.

“I’m sorry,” she said simply, in a rush of air. And then, “I—I don’t know what else to say. What I _could_ even say. There’s nothing I could say that could ever make up for what I did. I h-hurt you and, and I put you in the hospital, and I…” She trailed off, obviously not sure how to continue.

Andy nodded, feeling the sincerity of her words.

He swallowed a lump in his throat, his mouth suddenly feeling dry. “What, um, what happened? Why…?” He couldn’t complete the thought.

 _‘What happened that day?’_ was the unasked question. 

She understood it though.

Mae took in a shuddering breath. She had been expecting this. Preparing for it. “…I’ve been seeing some big psychiatrist over in the city recently. I’ve only been to, like, three appointments so far, but it’s been helping, I think. Umm…” She glanced up, briefly. “He says I have a thing called derealization disorder. It’s like, I get ‘disconnected’ from reality and the stuff around me whenever I get stressed or anxious. I don’t know. I-I can’t remember how he explained it to me.”

Andy didn’t say anything, so she pressed on.

“…So, like, it all started that day before the softball game. Something broke in me, and…all of a sudden, I was completely alone. Like, everything around me turned into nothing, and I was alone. It was all just a bunch of shapes that meant nothing… Everything and everyone that I had ever cared about were just things—Things that were _there_ , separate from me. And I wasn’t _there_ , with them, and I could never be there, no matter how much I wanted to…”

Her words came tumbling out faster now, as she grew more comfortable speaking her mind. “I always remember some guy walking by outside my window, and how he was just shapes. Just this mass of stuff that existed and did nothing else, and didn’t mean anything else. And the trees, and the cars, and the sky, and, and everything was all just nothing… And I was alone.

“And that next day was the festival thing. And I was an absolute mess, ‘cause I didn’t understand what was going on. Everything I had known was gone, and I had nothing to hold on to anymore. I was so scared and angry and confused… I was an absolute mess of emotions.” She paused. And then, “God,” she muttered, “I barely even remember anything about that day, really. It’s all just a blur…”

She looked back down at the table now, unable to look at anywhere else. “…And then I was waiting in line to play some softball. I don’t even remember why, or how I got there. And, like, when I stepped up to bat, I think something about all the people around me caused something to snap. And I saw you, and you were just shapes too, like you weren’t anything. And before I knew what I was doing, I was smashing your head in.” She shuddered at the memory, her voice trailing off. “…Just shapes…”

There was silence.

Andy was…

He didn’t know what he was feeling at that moment. He really, truly didn’t.

He was remembering too.

Remembering that day.

Remembering his pain.

Remembering all the anger and sadness in her face that had confused him for so long.

Remembering that blank stare in her eyes as she looked right through him.

Those eyes.

He understood now.

Somewhat, at least.

She had been through something too, he realized.

Just like him.

That had never really occurred to him before.

“Well… Shit…” was all that Andy could say. “I didn’t know any of that. Sorry you had to go through that.”

She grimaced. “It’s not an excuse. I hurt you. I mean, just—” She flailed her arms at him, clearly ashamed.

And he knew what at. He sighed and ran a hand over the cold plastic prosthetic that made up the top half of his beak. It was always the first thing people noticed about him nowadays. It was strikingly obvious. “It’s fine,” he said, “I’ve come to terms with it.” He chuckled. “Well, mostly.” 

“I destroyed your beak!”

“Yeah…” He sighed wistfully.

“When I walked in the door, and I saw you, I—I was so relieved that you weren’t in worse shape. No one ever told me what had happened to you, and I couldn’t remember how much damage I did. All I had to go off of were the rumors that started going around town…”

He looked up sharply, cutting her off. “What? No one told you?” 

She shook her head. “No… They, uhh, thought it would upset me further and eventually I just stopped asking.”

“Oh…”

Andy drifted into thought then. No one had ever told her what had happened to him. That felt unnecessarily cruel. She’d obviously been living with this guilt for a very long time.

“You know,” he said, “I used to play baseball.”

“Oh?” She perked up, seemingly grateful for the change in topic.

“Yeah…” His bad shoulder began to ache at the thought. “I even had some scholarships lined up for a couple of colleges. They all wanted me to pitch for them.”

She was pleased with that. “Oh, that’s great. Where’d you end up going?”

He didn’t respond for a moment. “I didn’t,” he said softly.

It took only a second for realization to shoot across her face. Her eyes grew wide and her face collapsed.

He decided to just rip off the bandage, so to speak. Get it over with.

“You broke my collarbone and damaged my rotator cuff, right in the shoulder.” He pointed to the general area. “It’s a career-ending injury, even for professional players in their prime. No one would want some unproven rookie to pitch for them.”

With every word that came out of his mouth, Mae seemed to sink further and further into her seat, her pupils growing smaller. “Oh God, oh God! I’m so sorry! I’m so sorry. I—I didn’t—”

He held up a hand, halting her. “It’s fine. Really. I’ve gotten over it.”

“That doesn’t matter! I still did it! I ruined your future!” She broke off, gasping for breath. “…Oh God, I fuck everything up…”

“No! Hey!” Andy grew worried. Was she freaking out on him? She mentioned before that she would relapse if she got stressed out. Maybe this was all too much. Maybe he shouldn’t have approached his injuries like that. “Hey, hey… No, it’s okay. Please don’t—”

But she didn’t appear to hear him. Her entire body was shaking, and her eyes were unfocused and stared off into the distance.

A spike of fear shot through Andy, unbidden, unwanted. It was just like all those years ago. Her eyes. Those red eyes of hers. 

But, no. It wasn’t.

“Hey!” he said, raising his voice some. He reached over and grasped her shoulder, forcing her to look at him.

Her eyes focused on him, and then she blinked.

He didn’t say anything more.

And neither did she.

They stared at each other for a few more moments, as Mae’s breathing began to even out and she seemed to calm down.

She blinked again. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…” She trailed off. “Umm…”

She took a deep breath in.

And let it out.

“Thank you,” she said. “I’m okay now…”

Andy leaned back into his seat, worry still evident in his expression. “Are you sure? I don’t—”

“I’m fine. Thank you.” The corners of her mouth turned up. “It, um, wasn’t like, like back _then_. I just…uhh… I’ve just been kinda stressed out about this, you know? And everything just sorta hit me when you started explaining how much I messed up your life.”

“Hey—no. It wasn’t— You didn’t…”

Andy stopped short, unsure how he wanted to proceed. He clasped his hand together and took a moment to organize his thoughts.

“Okay,” he began, “I mean—yeah, I was really upset at the time, but—listen, I don’t, like, hate you for what you did anymore, okay? I really don’t. I, uhh...” He struggled to find the words to say. “I did hate you for a long time after it happened. I didn’t understand why you did it, why you attacked me. I thought you were just some crazy, horrible person or something. And when the case was settled, and all you had to do was go to therapy, I didn’t understand why they didn’t send you to jail for what you did. I was bitter, and, and angry, and directionless, and for a long time I wished you were dead or were hurt as much as I was…”

Andy took a deep breath, a soft smile playing across his face. “But I’ve grown up and, after a lot of soul-searching, I’ve managed to move on. And now, after what you just told me about what you went through, I understand that what happened wasn’t really your fault. You weren’t some violent girl that attacked me just for laughs. You were hurting too, same as me—just for different reasons.”

He reached out across the table, holding his hand out for her to take. After a moment’s hesitation, she placed her paw in his. “Mae Borowski,” he began, swallowing a lump in his throat, “I forgive you.”

She shook at his words and clenched her eyes together tight. He squeezed her paw, and she held on to him like she was afraid she would float away if she didn’t. “…I don’t deserve that…” she whispered. “I don’t deserve your forgiveness. I ruined your life… I broke your beak. I broke your shoulder. You can’t play baseball ‘cause of me.”

He scoffed playfully. “I mean, you’re giving yourself a little too much credit there. I can still _play_ baseball, just not professionally.” He tried to make light of the situation, and it worked somewhat. A begrudging smile appeared on Mae’s face.

The mood at the table steadily began to return to normal. The both of them had gotten the bulk of their emotions out. All seven years of bottled-up emotional tension and trauma had been released and it was immensely relieving for both of them.

Neither of the two noticed the glances the other people in the restaurant were throwing at them. They hadn’t exactly been quiet.

“Okay. Fine,” she said, “You can’t play baseball professionally ‘cause of me. Whatever. It’s, like, still the same thing.”

“Yeah,” he admitted quietly. Then, “But, you know, looking back on it all now, it was mostly my father pushing for me to play professionally. I mean, I would’ve enjoyed it for sure, but I’ve managed to make my own lot in life now, without him trying to relive his glory days through me.”

Mae seemed to accept that. “That’s good. What do you do now?”

“Uh, graphic design, actually.” She chuckled at that and he smiled reactively. “Yeah, I know. Something completely different, right? I ended up going to college anyways, without a sports scholarship, over at Saltztown Community College, and got a two-year Digital Art degree. I freelance.”

“Cool. That’s really cool. You like that?”

“Yeah.” He shrugged. “I mean, it’s a living. I get all of my commissions from people in other cities, and I draw landscapes in my spare time and enter them in shows and stuff sometimes. Unfortunately, Possum Springs isn’t exactly the most cultured place for budding young artists, you know?”

“Possum Springs isn’t the place for anything, unless you like crumbling buildings.” She smiled wryly.

“Oh God, yes. This place is terrible.”

“Well, why don’t you move away?”

Andy groaned. “I don’t know. I mean, I’ve been saving up and all, but…uhh…I don’t know if you heard, but my father was one of those people that disappeared a couple of months ago. Me and mom have been dealing with that whole mess, and it’s been…difficult for us.”

Mae didn’t say anything to that. In an instant, her entire body seemed to freeze up and the mood changed again. If Andy didn’t know any better, he would say that she almost looked…ashamed. Scared. Nervous. And then she tried to play it all off with a weak smile. “…That sucks. Sorry to hear that.”

“What do you have to be sorry about?” he said, waving a hand dismissively, hoping to allay whatever she was feeling. “I’m not upset about it. I mean, it was surprising, sure, but he was a bastard. My mom ended up divorcing him like three years ago. One of the last times we talked, he made it very clear that he thought getting an art degree was a complete waste of time. Pretty much broke off all contact with us and everything. Sure, it was kinda a blow when he disappeared, but whatever.

“Now that they’ve finally given up the search, me and mom have been having to deal with his lawyers and shit. He made it hard on us. Practically cut us out of his will, which is really stupid ‘cause we’re literally the only family he has.”

“Geez…” She wasn’t sure how to respond.

“Yeah. So that’s been a whole thing I’ve had to deal with.” A pause. “You didn’t know anyone who disappeared, did you?”

“Ah.” She shut her jaw with a click. Her eyes darted away. “Uh, no. No I did not. I just got lucky, I guess.”

“That’s good.” He exhaled heavily. “God, that was a mess, wasn’t it? Still can’t believe the police never found anyone.”

“Yeah,” was her curt reply.

A thought occurred to him then. “Hey, isn’t your aunt the chief now or something? Has she told you anything?”

“Nope. Nothing.” Mae shook her head and chuckled, seemingly uncomfortable. Maybe she was still upset about the whole thing, Andy guessed. It was certainly the most disturbing and shocking thing to happen to Possum Springs since the flood.

Mae drummed her knuckles on the table. “You, uh, said you did landscapes, right? Do you have any pictures or something?”

Andy blinked in surprise, caught off-guard by the sudden change in topic. “Oh. Uh, yeah. You wanna see some?”

“Yeah.”

He shifted in the seat and fished his phone out of his pocket. He unlocked it, opened up the art folder in his photos app, and held it out to her.

“Wow,” she said, taking the offered device. “A real, actual smartphone! I thought these were just a myth!” Her sarcasm was palpable.

He laughed. “Yeah. It doesn’t do much good here, but I need it for work and stuff. Takes good pictures at least.”

Mae swiped at the screen a few times, enamored with the technology. “I had a crappy flip phone for a while. Couldn’t even text on it.”

She looked at the pictures on the phone. The first was a black-and-white pencil drawing of a small rowboat in a cave lit only by candlelight. “Wow,” she said, “That’s…really good. I wish I could draw like this.”

He gave a half-smile. “Thanks... It was always just a hobby, you know? I never really got into it until after the whole…uhh…” He waved his hand in her general direction. “I guess I have you to thank for that.”

She didn’t reply to that and instead swiped to the next picture. It was a drawing of a stone bridge going over a small river that was surrounded by trees. The next drawing was of a forest that looked as if it had been ravaged by a fire or something. “Are all these real places?” she asked.

“Oh! Uh, no. None of them, actually.” He craned his head to see what exactly she was looking at. “I mean, they’re all based off of real places, but I just looked at a bunch of different pictures and mashed them all together in my head.”

“Wow. That’s cool.” The next picture was in color. It was of a beach, looking in from the ocean, with a cozy-looking cottage in the distance. The next one, a drawing of a crumbling mountain road, was back in black-and-white. She swiped again, revealing an old farmhouse with a waterwheel. “Oh wow. These are all really awesome.”

He mumbled out a 'thanks' as she continued on. The next few pictures were of various logos, advertisements, and other design work he’d done. Samples from his job. They were all nice and aesthetically pleasing to look at.

He did fairly well at his job.

Andy leaned back over to see what she was looking at as she continued going through. “Ah,” he said, “Now you’re getting into the assignments I had to do in college. These aren’t all that great…” 

These new pictures were markedly different than the ones before. There was an ink drawing of an old car, a still-life painting, some weird abstract stuff, portraits and figure-drawings, and a bunch more landscapes done in different styles. 

“Are you kidding me?! These are awesome!” she said, after looking at a few. “All I can manage to do is, like, doodle stuff. I would love to be able to do shit like this!”

“Eh. I found my niche drawing landscapes. That’s what I like to do. I never would've done all that other stuff if I wasn’t forced too.”

“Still,” she said, “You’re a really good artist. Do you win any of those art shows you entered?”

He shook his head. “They’re not really competitions like that. You just get recognition, I guess. Besides, there’s stuff there loads better than what I can do.” And it was true, he knew. He was not that great of an artist.

She scoffed playfully. “Yeah. Okay, dude. Whatever you say. You’re still really good. In a few years, you’ll be famous, and you’ll leave this place behind.” She was enraptured now by a drawing of train tracks running through a forest. It heavily reminded her of the train tracks in town.

She went to the next picture.

She froze, her eyes growing wide, her paws clutching the phone tight.

Andy noticed her sudden change in demeanor and glanced at what picture she was looking at.

  


  


[](http://s1351.photobucket.com/user/Rcw78/media/NITW_zpsh4a5qubm.png.html)  
  


  


  


His blood ran cold, and he immediately snatched the phone from Mae’s grasp, throwing it down into his lap.

There was a tremendous heat welling up in him. Andy wasn’t quite sure he what he was feeling at that moment. Shame. Nervousness. Dread. 

He had completely forgotten about…that.

The drawing he’d made of her.

Of those red eyes. 

Those nightmare eyes.

Why did he even have a picture of that still on his phone?

Why did—

Andy took a deep breath in and then let it out.

Neither of them spoke for a moment.

Mae just sat there, still staring at the empty space where the phone had been.

“…Was that…me?” she asked in a quiet voice.

Of course it was, he thought. Who else would it be?

“Yeah…” he said, breathlessly. “It was…” He struggled to remember. “It was some prompt they gave us in school. It was like, ‘Draw someone or something that shaped who you are today,’ or something. And I…”

“And you drew me…”

“Yeah.” It was a simple statement.

There was silence again.

Just like that, the tension between them returned.

He had upset her again, he knew.

It had upset him too, to be perfectly honest.

Dredged up old, painful memories. For both of them, probably.

He, of the nightmares he had for years.

She, of what she had done.

And of what he had done later.

She wasn’t the only one of the two of them that had something to apologize for.

He had hoped that he would’ve been able to avoid this subject. It was something that he regretted immensely now. But now that it had been rather abruptly brought up, he figured that it was his time to apologize to her.

“I’m sorry,” he said.

She didn’t seem to hear him at first. “Hmm?”

He shifted in his seat some. “I’m sorry for the whole, uh, ‘nightmare eyes’ thing. I know kids used to call you that. That was all my fault…”

“It’s fine.” She was refusing to look at him again, keeping her eyes downcast. “It’s not like I didn’t give you a reason to be afraid of me…” 

“Yeah,” he admitted. “But, like, I realize now what a terrible thing that was. I mean, what did they used to say? ‘Mae’s nightmare eyes outside of your window will be the last thing you see before she kills you?’ That was…That was fucking horrible. And for such a long time, I thought you deserved it. Egged it on, even.”

He shook his head remorsefully. “God, I… I really am sorry about that, Mae. I can only imagine how much worse that made you feel, knowing now what you went through.”

Mae let out a strained sigh. “It’s okay. I had…help. I got over it eventually.”

“That still doesn’t make it right.” He frowned. “If you can apologize for what you did, I can too. I practically made the whole school bully you.”

She shrugged at that but appeared to accept his apology anyways.

“And this—” He set his phone back on the table, with his drawing of her still on the screen. “—This picture wasn’t… When I drew this, it wasn’t, like, created out of hate or anything. That was about the time when I began to forgive you, and when they gave us that assignment... I don’t know, I just thought of you. And for the first time, I thought of your…nightmare eyes…and I stopped seeing them as this thing that had haunted me for so long.

“For better or worse, you changed my life, Mae. I may not have ended up where I thought I was going, but, uhh, I’m happy with who I am now. I used to imagine what my life would be like if you never attacked me, but now, even with all the pain and anger I went through, I don’t think I would change anything.

“And, uh, yeah… That’s all I have to say about that…” He chuckled nervously, his momentum dying off. He was suddenly aware of the fact that they were not alone and were sitting in a diner with other people. He glanced over to see one of the waitresses stealthily watching them.

Mae looked at him now, her red eyes meeting his. “Thanks, Andy. That…means a lot.” She breathed in, her ears lying flat against her head. “Right back at ya.”

He laughed.

“But really,” she continued, “I have more to apologize for than you do. I’m sorry for attacking you. I really am.”

“And I’m sorry for trying to ruin your life later. You at least have an excuse for what you did, but I made a conscious decision to hurt you. That was wrong of me.”

There was a beat of amicable silence between the two of them.

Mae seemed to have returned to her normal self. At the very least, Andy could tell that she was feeling much better than just moments before, and noticeably better than when she first walked in. He was feeling much better too.

“Alright!” Mae clasped her paws together and leaned forward, a smile spread across her face. “We need to stop! At this rate, we’re just gonna spend the rest of the night apologizing to each other over and over—And I’m fresh outta apologies to give!”

Andy nodded. “I hear that!” He paused for a moment and then smirked. “I’m sorry I’ve apologized so much.”

Mae rolled her eyes, clearly amused. “Well, I’m sorry I’ve had to apologize so much too.”

He almost said more, but thought better of it. If she were one of his friends, he might’ve continued escalating the joke, but she wasn’t one of his friends. Probably best not to push things any further.

It was time to wrap things up, he knew. They were both tired. This had been emotionally and mentally draining for the both of them. 

“This has been good, yeah?” He tilted his head slightly, meeting her gaze.

She smiled warmly. “Yeah... Yeah, this has been good. I feel a lot better now.”

“Oh definitely,” he agreed. “I think we needed this. I know I certainly did.”

Mae let out a deep sigh and rubbed her face. “All I wanna do now is go sleep for like twenty hours and figure out what to do next.”

“That’s what I’m planning to do when I get home. My nerves are about shot.”

“…Yeah…”

They looked at each other then. Really stared at each other. Studied each other. Andy gazed right into those red eyes and didn’t flinch away. He had been tormented by those eyes for so long, and now they didn’t seem like much of anything. They were just a part of her face now, a part of her. There wasn’t anything to be afraid of anymore.

They should’ve done this sooner, he thought. Maybe he would’ve been able to let go of his anger earlier.

But, it was time to go now. All of what they had needed to say had been said, at least for right now. 

They continued to sit there, watching each other, neither of them knowing quite how to end this.

Andy blinked. “I wish we could’ve met under different circumstances.”

That broke the tension.

She seemed to consider this for a moment, her face scrunching up in thought. “How about we start over then?” She stuck out her paw, surprising him slightly. “Hey there! My name is Mae Borowski.”

After only a brief second of hesitation, he reached out and shook her paw. “And I’m Andrew Cullen. Nice to meet you.”

“Likewise!”

They stood up from the table.

Goodbye, Andrew Cullen!” She smiled up at him.

And he smiled back. “See you later, Mae Borowski.”

Together, they walked over to the entrance.

One of the waitresses glared at them as they went, probably because they had been sitting down for close to an hour and hadn’t ever ordered anything.

And with the ringing of the bell above the door, Andy and Mae exited the Clik Clak.

Night had fallen.

The stars shone bright in the sky.

They stood there for a moment, taking in the cool night air, and basked in the momentous relief the both of them felt.

After seven years, they had put an end to this thing between them.

Mae turned to him, rocking back and forth slightly. “So…uhh…”

“Yeah?” 

She hesitated some, visibly nervous. “Uhh… Would you wanna, like, hang out again sometime?”

Honestly, Andy was taken aback by that. He hadn’t even thought about it. And yet, the moment she asked it, he knew what his answer was. The both of them had been through something together—something that just their conversation this night wasn’t fully able to repair.

“Sure. Of course. I think that’d be great.”

Mae brightened at that. She was probably thinking a similar thing, he figured. More talk would do the both of them good.

She continued speaking. “And maybe…uhh… I was thinking that maybe we could play some baseball or something? I have a bat and I know how to use it.”

He laughed. “I know. You have one hell of a swing.” He tapped his prosthetic beak playingly and smiled. “That sounds like fun. I haven’t pitched as much as I would’ve liked to recently.”

“Uhh, great! Great!” She stuck her paws in her pants pockets. “Alright! I’m gonna head out now. Need to go start my twenty hours of sleep.”

He chuckled. “It was nice to meet you, Mae.” And it was true. It really was.

She moved a few steps away. “It was good to meet you too, Andy. I’ll see you later, yeah?”

“Definitely.” 

With that, she turned and began to walk down the street. When she got to the next building, she turned slightly and waved at him.

He waved back, and watched her until she vanished into the darkness up by the Snack Falcon.

And then he turned and made his own way home, thoughts and emotions swirling in his head.

He had made peace with himself years ago, but it was only now that he made peace with her that he truly felt whole again. It had been incredibly cathartic.

He almost felt as if he was about to start crying, so overcome he was with relief and joy and a peacefulness that he hadn’t experienced for a long time. 

The constant ache in his shoulder was barely noticeable anymore.

He ran a hand over his prosthetic beak and he could almost imagine it felt completely normal.

The red brake lights of a passing car didn’t even remind him of her eyes.

He was okay.

For the first time in a long time, he knew everything would be okay.

He held on to that feeling.

And he went back home.

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long. I had a lot of trouble with it and it just kept getting longer and longer. Hope you all enjoy!


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